| Stormers: (19) 40 |
| Tries: Nel, Zas, Libbok, Pokomela, Roos, Pretorius Cons: Libbok 4, Swiel |
| Cardiff: (3) 3 |
| Pen: Evans |
With a six-try win in the United Rugby Championship, Stormers put on a show against Cardiff in Cape Town.
Ruhan Nel and Leolin Zas, Junior Pokomela, Manie Libbok and Evan Roos all crossed the border to become dominant hosts.
Cardiff only responded with a Jarrod Evans penalty in the first period.
Like Scarlets, the Welsh side leaves South Africa empty-handed, having lost two of two.
Stormers move up to seventh place in the table while Cardiff, which has only played two more games, is 14th.
Cardiff began brightly with Evans and Lloyd Williams probing kicks, asking questions about the Stormers defense.
They won the lead thanks to Evans’ penalty. Stormers hooker Scarra Ntubeni, however, was penalised for a neckroll.
However, that was their only win in the DHL Stadium sunshine.
After successfully defending Cardiff’s driving lines-outs, Stormers were able to enter the game and scored their first try.
The ball was sent far to Zas, who did a blistering job to get his chip. He then passed it back inside to centre Nel.
Even though it was a bit unconventional, the second attempt was just as impressive.
Full-back Warrick gelant grabbed a low ball with the boot. Seabelo Senatla collected it and flicked it inside for fellow wing Zas. He then grounded at full stretch.
Cardiff could have been dealt another blow by Rory Thornton, who was destined to spend 10 minutes in the shade because of a deliberate knock-on. But officials deemed it only a penalty.
Deon Fourie, Stormers flanker could also feel fortunate to have not been given a yellow for his head-collision with Cardiff’s James Botham.
Libbok’s boot again exposed the Cardiff backline at the half-time break.
He grabbed his kick from the top, exchanged passes and ran under the posts.
The Stormers won the break. Cardiff started to make errors.
Stormers were relentless in their attacks, but it took them 20 minutes to get the clinical edge that they had in the first period.
Lloyd Williams found himself alone after a half break, and eventually scored on turnover ball.
Damian Willemse gathered the scraps and with an excellent offload, found replacement Pokomela.
They were again over minutes later with eight-year-old Roos breaking a double take to run unopposed.
Stormers ran riot as Cardiff heads fell. Senatla supported Pretorius with a show and move.
The results are the final straw for Welsh rugby. There were heavy losses for Cardiff and Scarlets, as well as the loss of the national side to Italy in the Six Nations.
Stormers: Warrick Gelant; Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel, Damian Willemse, Leolin Zas; Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies; Steven Kitshoff (capt), Scarra Ntubeni, Brok Harris, Adre Smith, Marvin Orie, Deon Fourie, Hacjivah Dayimani, Evan Roos.
Replacements: Chad Solomon, Ali Vermaak, Neethling Fouche, Ernst van Rhyn, Junior Pokomela, Paul de Wet, Tim Swiel, Rikus Pretorius.
Cardiff RugbyMatthew Morgan; Jason Harries. Max Llewellyn. Ben Thomas. Theo Cabango; Jarrod Davies, Lloyd Williams. Corey Domachowski. Kristian Dmitri. Matthew Screech. Rory Thornton. Josh Turnbull. Ellis Jenkins. James Botham.
Replacements: Keiron Assiratti, Brad Thyer, Will Davies-King, Teddy Williams, Will Boyde, Ellis Bevan, Garyn Smith, Hallam Amos.
Referee:Sam Grove-White, (SRU).
Assistants: Marius van der Westhuizen & Morné Ferreira (SARU)
TMO: Adam Jones (WRU).